Choices and consequences
by Mariaaaaa
Summary: Summary: McGee makes a mistake while hacking into FBI. How Gibbs is gonna deal with that? Warning: spanking of adult. Don’t like? Don’t read!
1. The mistake

**Choices and consequences **

**Summary**: McGee makes a mistake while hacking into FBI. How Gibbs is gonna deal with that? **Warning**: spanking of adult. Don't like? Don't read!

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just write about them.

Note: For those that get confused sth stands for something.

* * *

"Uh……………Boss?"_Oh, God I am dead, he though. _

Gibbs took his eyes from the report he was reading and stared at his agent, sth was definitely wrong. "What McGee??"

"Uh…………nothing." McGee said.

"Spilt it out." Gibbs said with his gunny tone that could be answered only by the truth.

"I think FBI caught me while trying to get that info….."McGee admitted, feeling stupid that he had allowed himself to get caught.

"What? They know what you have done?"Gibbs asked, trying to find out in how much trouble they were in.

"I don't know, boss." He tried to be honest. "Probably not, I figure it quite quickly so they don't know it's me, just NCIS. But I am the only one who can do it in here, anyway." Tim said matter-of-factly.

"Agent McGee, my office, NOW." The director screamed from the stairs, only to confirm their fears.

Tim got up slowly from his chair, his eyes fixed to the floor. He had started walking up the stairs when he noticed that his boss following him. _Great they are gonna chew me out together. _

"Hacking the FBI's files??What were you thinking, McGee??"The director asked him before he could even enter the office. It was that exact moment that he realized in how big trouble he was in. Tim thought that he had better not say anything, stay silent and wait, but then this could only lead him to be fired, if not prisoned. He had probably broken more laws and agency's regulations than he could think of. So, he made his decision. If it was to be fired at least is would be done his way.

He took a deep breath, and said calmly but sternly. "As you might know, a four-year old boy is kidnapped, held somewhere out there by a well-known serial killer with his life clearly in danger. We know who the kidnapper is but his file is classified. When we asked access, FBI withheld all the vital information that would help us find him. So, yes, I hacked into their files and took all the needed information. Abby should already have found the exact location the kid is held at. And, to answer your question, I was thinking the fastest way to save a kid and to do my job, sir." Tim stopped and took a deep breath. He was waiting for a reaction either from the director or worse his boss.

The director was speechless. He was expecting everything from his young agent, apologies, pleas and even tears. But not this. McGee was supporting his action…….his very wrong action and in way that made it seem almost the only logical way to save a child.

Gibbs was by the door, looking as surprised as the director but also very proud. His young agent, who took him months before he could even speak to him without spluttering, was now standing up for himself. Gibbs was ready to cover McGee, by taking full responsibility for Tim's action- he was the one who gave the order anyway- and he was planning to justify his decision using pretty much the same words but apparently McGee had no such need.

McGee was confused by the silence, but the –unexpectedly- supportive look he received from his boss, gave him the courage to continue. "Director, if there is nothing else, we have a kid to save." McGee said confident.

The director could only nod and whisper, "You can go for now. We'll talk again when you return."

Gibbs opened the door and the two of them left the office.

"Elevator, now." Gibbs said as sternly as he could, trying to hide his pride.

That exact moment, McGee realized that he had been disrespectful to the director in front of Gibbs. _Was he completely crazy? His boss was gonna kill him. _He was more than sure that he had just destroyed his career, his future and he had disappointed his boss. He couldn't face Gibbs now, but he had no intention to add disobedience to the list of his offences.

As soon as they got into the elevator he saw his boss pressing the stop button. To his amazement it was done in a far calmer way than he was expecting. He braced himself to raise his eyes and look at his boss. To his surprise, his boss was smiling. "Good job, Tim." Gibbs said showing his pride.

_What??_ His boss was calling him by his first name? Smiling at him? After what he had done?? "There is no need to have fun with me boss." He said more like a whine, realizing that he sounded more like a tree-year old boy than a trained federal agent. "I know I am in a big trouble both for being disrespectful to the director and getting caught hacking the FBI." He said to show to his boss that he knew in how much trouble he was in.

"I am not having fun with you Tim." Gibbs said, realizing how guilty his agent was feeling. "You were amazing. You stood up for yourself and you said nothing but the truth. I am proud of you, son. And as far as the fact that you got caught is concerned, I guess it was a bad moment; sth that haven't happened all the other times. So I am guessing it was just bad luck."

"Thanks boss, I guess." He whispered, "But, to be honest, the fact that I was caught was totally my fault. In my effort to speed things up, I gave a wrong order. It was a beginner's mistake. That's why I couldn't cover it fast enough."McGee said and fixed his eyes on the floor.

"Well, we all can do mistakes sometimes. It only means that we are human. Let's go now McGee, we have no time to waste. I am gonna deal with the director and your mistake when we came back." Gibbs said trying to put his agent at ease. Yes, he had made a mistake but they had a serial killer to catch and Gibbs didn't want him distract. McGee was a precious member of the team and needed him focus on the case now.

With that the elevator was back in motion.

Things went smoothly, so a couple of hours later the kid was safe and with his parents, the serial killer was in prison and the team was back in the bullpen.

"DiNozzo, David, I am gonna need your reports tomorrow by noon so you can leave for the day. McGee I want your report ready as soon as I am back from the director." Gibbs said to everyone's amazement.

"On it, boss." McGee said, as he didn't want to piss his boss any more than he had already done. Tony looked at him with sympathy as he had figured out that his probie was in trouble about the FBI thing, and Tim looked back at him showing his appreciation.

Gibbs headed for the director's office, leaving Tim alone at the bullpen typing at his keyboard.


	2. The discussion

One hour later, his report was ready, singed and on Gibbs' desk and all the paperwork from the case was finished. After a while, he heard his boss coming towards him.

"Did you finish your report?" He asked calmly but sternly.

"Yes, boss. It's on your desk."

"Get your staff, we are leaving."Gibbs said while he was picking up the report and was heading to the elevator.

Tim was puzzled as he couldn't understand the order. _Where his boss was taking him? Why? In how much trouble he was in, that they couldn't deal with it here? _Tim managed to gather his staff and follow his boss into the elevator, then the parking lot and into his boss car.

Gibbs was driving to his home as he wanted the upmost privacy for what he had in mind. He could see the confused look in Tim's eyes but it wasn't time for any explanations, not yet, and luckily Tim stayed silent. They reached the house; he parked and headed for the basement. There was no need to check if Tim was following; he knew he did. They entered the basement, with Tim looking more and more confused. Gibbs took two mugs, filled them with bourdon and offered one to Tim. He was soaked but took the mug without drinking. No alcohol was allowed on working days, according to Gibbs' rules. He looked at his boss, waiting for him to speak.

"I gave a huge fight to keep you in my team, Timmy." Gibbs said, calmly.

_Timmy? What was going on? Why his boss was calling him like that?_

"Thank you, boss. I know I should be fired." McGee said and hugged his head.

"Fired? You don't get it, do you? FBI, CIA, MTAC, Cyber-Crimes, the dame whole alphabet wanted you. Every single one was amazed with your skills." Gibbs said allowing himself to smile.

"What??" Tim was even more confused now.

"That's why I brought you here. I won my battle and I am to keep you. And I really want to, but you are not an item. It's you who have to make the final decision. It's your chance, maybe the only one, to choose from the whole alphabet." Gibbs tried to explain to his puzzled agent.

"I belong to you, boss." Tim replied, before Gibbs had even a chance to finish his phrase. It was said without any hesitation, not even a second thought. Gibbs was the best mentor he could ask for, and as Gibbs' personal choice for the team, he was feeling special and precious as well as needed and useful. He would NEVER change that.

Gibbs felt overwhelmed by the trust his young agent was showing him, the way he was devoting himself to his authority, without asking anything in return. But he had to make him realize the seriousness of his decision.

"It would be fine with me if you choose sth else. I don't want to hold you back. Cyber-Crimes is ready to offer you your own team." Gibbs said trying to hide how much afraid he was of the possibility to lose his so precious agent.

"I want to……"McGee left his phrase unfinished as suddenly realized, "You don't want me in your team after the mistake I made. You are asking me to leave." it was a statement, not a question. He felt his eyes welled up and he found it really difficult to look at his boss.

_Smack _

The head-slap was totally unexpected and took Tim by surprise.

"Auuh……What was that for?" Tim asked.

"That was for believing that I would lie to you. If I didn't want you in my team, I would have told you so and I wouldn't fight so hard to keep you. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, boss."Tim said a bit uncertain.

"Seriously Tim, you are a really good agent and I don't want to lose you. I know that you did a mistake, but that's why I am here. To help you overcome your mistakes and to reach your capabilities. Believe me; you are gonna be a great team leader soon or later." Gibbs saw Tim nodding, more convinced now, so he thought it was time for the question. "Now think carefully before you answer. What's your pick through the alphabet??"

"It is Gibbs, boss. But I have to use 2 b if that's ok." Tim said, grateful for Gibbs' trust, with a huge smile on his face.

"Yes, you can use two b."Gibbs said, feeling happy for what he was hearing.

"Now, why don't you have a zip of your drink and tell me about your report?"Gibbs said, as he had noticed that Tim was just holding the mug-not even tasting it.

"Rule 32, boss. No alcohol on working days." Tim said puzzled that Gibbs thought he would just that easily break the rule.

Gibbs smiled; realizing that even under all this pressure Tim was still respecting his rules. "You can have a zip Tim if you want. Let's ignore the rule, just for once."

Tim nodded but didn't taste his drink any way. Then he began saying to his boss that he had filled all the paperwork and wrote his report claiming that the FBI had given them the information about the serial killer. At that exact moment, he froze.

Gibbs, realizing the reason why his agent had frozen, gave him time to pull himself together and say what he had in mind.

"I think that….uh… now that I have….uh….made my ….uh…choice to stay with you…….uh……I have……uh…….you should……….uh…..my….uh…."Tim was shuttering. The difficulty, to bring up the subject, was clearly reflected on his face.

"You think we should deal with your mistake." Gibbs said to put his agent at ease.

"Sort of…." McGee said, not quiet thrilled by the prospect of punishment.

"How?" Gibbs asked. He wanted to make sure that McGee was ready to face a hard punishment for his behavior. Technology was never his thing so he had to make sure that his agent deserved what his was planning to give him.

McGee was startled. He couldn't understand why his boss was asking such a thing. The punishment was never sth to be chosen by him.

"I don't……uh…….sure……….maybe………belt" McGee tried to speak.

"You want me to whip you with my belt, right?" Gibbs asked.

"I guess so." McGee said surprised both by his boss who had understand what he was trying to say and himself for having the courage to ask for a punishment.

"Do you really believe that your mistake is so serious that require such a severe punishment?" Gibbs asked overwhelmed by the amount of trust his boy was showing to him.

"Yes, I do." McGee realized that even though he had never been spanked from anyone but Gibbs-just a couple of times by his father as a child, that couldn't be compared with what was facing now- he was ready to trust Gibbs for this punishment. He was looking forward for the absolution that would follow the punishment. He had figured out that the reason Gibbs was asking these questions was to see if the mistake was that serious and how Tim was feeling about it, so he tried to explain as well as he could. "I know better than risking the safety of a little boy just to speed up a hacking procedure. I would have won 10 minutes if I had succeeded but I ended up losing one hour by being caught. Everyone knows that the most important thing when you hack into sth is to make sure that you won't get caught doing it. It was a stupid mistake that could have brought to both of us serious trouble with the law. I should have known better."

Gibbs, realizing how guilty Tim was feeling about what had happened, had made his decision.

"Before anything else I would like to tell you that I am proud of you. You came to me as soon as the problem occurred and you took full responsibility for your actions when you could have got away with. " Gibbs said to make clear that he appreciated the way Tim had handle the situation.

"I would never be able to look again at you knowing that I had lied. I can't lie to you, boss." Tim said to reassure his boss that he had never thought about covering his mistake.

"I know Tim, and I am really happy about that. Now, before we deal with your mistake I want to make sure that you understand that there wouldn't be any official punishment for your mistake. This punishment is between you and me. No NCIS is involved."Gibbs was trying to explain to Tim that his punishment was not from his boss but from his surrogate father as Gibbs was feeling Tim more and more like a son.

"I know, sir uh…..Gibbs." Tim said. He didn't want to call him boss. He was like his father now. This had nothing to do with work and they both knew it.

Gibbs understood Tim's effort not to call him boss as well as all the unspoken feeling behind it.

"Go upstairs and get ready for bed. I'll be right behind you." Gibbs said.


	3. The punishment

Tim froze for a moment, as these were the exact words his father was using to send him to his room and wait for his punishment, but he recovered quickly and went upstairs to the guest room. He changed into his gym trousers and a NCIS t-shirt that he always keeps in his night bag. He sat at the edge of the bed and stared at the wall in front of him. He was really nervous for the upcoming punishment but also very disappointed of himself and confused by his own feelings for Gibbs. Before he could go any deeper in his thoughts he heard a soft knock on the door and saw Gibbs entering the room.

"Are you ready?" Gibbs asked gently.

Tim could only nod, not trusting his voice.

"Ok, let's get it over with."

"Where do you want me?"Tim managed to ask, his voice shaking.

"Why don't you lie on the bed?"Gibbs said, more like a suggestion than an order.

Tim nodded, and started lowering his pants, anticipating the order.

"You can leave your pants up Tim."Gibbs said to his amazement.

Gibbs waited to Tim to get into position before he reached for his buckle and removed his belt. He folded his belt in half securing the buckle in his fist. He raised the belt and brought it hard on Tim's butt.

Crack, Crack, Crack.

The belt was brought down three times in quick session. Tim gasped for air and the first tears were formed in his eyes.

Crack, Crack, Crack.

The next three swats were delivered in the very sensitive spot where the butt meets the tights. Tim left a small yell of pain.

Crack, Crack, Crack.

Crack, Crack, Crack.

Crack, Crack, Crack.

The next swats made Tim cry openly, no longer able to protest or yell. He was too focused on breathing between his sobs. When Gibbs saw that Tim was sobbing, he immediately stopped the spanking. He put his belt back on and sat on the edge of the bed, using one hand to rub small cycles on Tim's back while reassuring him that the punishment was over and that he was forgiven.

Tim was usually recovering quickly after a spanking, not willing to let his boss see him crying like a baby, but this time he was too overwhelmed by his emotions to be able to control himself. He felt Gibbs hand on his back and heard the reassuring words he was offering but he wasn't ready to move on yet. He wanted to cry out all the guilt he was feeling.

Gibbs could see that Tim was still crying and he was sure that he was reacting more to his emotions than to the pain the spanking had caused. He was trying to comfort the young man to make him stop but he could understand that Tim was barely hearing him. He started getting worried. He had to bring Tim to the present and to make him understand that he was punished and forgiven.

"Tim??"He tried to talk to him, but had no answer. Gibbs was in a lot of stress. He hated it when his people were in pain, especially when he was the cause of it.

"Tim, why don't you try to calm down??" Gibbs tried again. There had passed almost ten minutes and Tim was still crying as intensively as he was during the spanking.

Tim could hear Gibbs talking to him but he couldn't speak. He couldn't stop the tears. He was trying to let go of the guilt he was feeling all day long.

"Tim, are you all right? Talk to me." Gibbs tried again, a little more sternly than before. But Tim was still crying, his face towards the wall. He was getting more worried as the time passed. He had to find a way to make Tim at least look at him. Even though he didn't like it, he thought that Tim would never disobey his order not even under these circumstances. So he tried the last thing he could think of.

"Timothy, look at me now." He said as sternly as he could. The worry about his boy growing every second.

That did the trick. Tim might not have stopped crying but he managed to turn his head and face Gibbs. It was not easy, but it was an order and he had no intention to disobey. When he faced Gibbs and saw the concern on his face, new tears came to his eyes.

Gibbs took a deep breath of relief painfully aware that Tim didn't dare to ignore his order, even under all this emotional pressure. Gibbs started to wonder that maybe he was too harsh on Tim. He knew that he was pressing him a lot in his effort to make him explore his potentials; but the amount of guilt the boy was feeling about a mistake as well as the way he respond to his order, made him wonder if he had been too demanding.

"Are you ok??"Gibbs asked more gently now.

Tim couldn't talk, but nodded in an effort to reassure him that he was fine and take the worry away from his eyes.

"Was I too hard on you?" Gibbs asked, hoping that this wasn't the reason why his agent was in such stress.

"No." Tim whispered, with his sobs under some control.

Gibbs breathed with relief at the negative answer as well as the sound of his voice.

"Am I pressing you too much? That's why you are reacting like that?" Gibbs asked afraid that his fears might come true.

"No, Gibbs........... It's not you....... I was..... just stupid." McGee managed to say between his sobs.

"It's ok. It's over. You are forgiven." He said, without removing his hand from Tim's back.

Tim nodded. "Thank you." He whispered and moved himself to sit on the bed near his boss.

Gibbs didn't know how to respond, but let his parenting instinct to guide him. He opened his arms and took the young man into a hug.

"It's ok. Everything is fine. I have got you." He told him again.

"I know. Thank you." Tim said after a long time, when he finally managed to breathe normally.

"Are you ready to move on now?" Gibbs asked to make sure Tim was all right.

"Yes, I am." Tim said with some confidence still sobbing a little bit.

"Ok, pizza or Chinese?"Gibbs asked.

"I really don't mind but I would appreciate a beer with it." McGee said realizing now in how much need he was for a drink to help him regain his composure.

"You had your chance to break the rule. I don't know if I am gonna let you break it again." Gibbs said with a smile on his face. His boy was ready to move on. And he was revealed that the incident was put behind them.

"Come on, Gibbs." McGee said pouting.

"Well, when you have this face on, you don't even look at legal age to drink."Gibbs said and the two men went downstairs laughing.

McGee was ordering his boss' favorite Chinese food, while Gibbs was opening two bottles of beer. They were ready to move on.


End file.
